Perceived changes in social interactions following military psychiatric hospitalization for a suicidal crisis

ABSTRACT

Introduction Changes in social interactions following psychiatric hospitalization, a period characterized by heightened suicide risk, are important to understand. Objective: We qualitatively explored perceived changes in social interactions one month after inpatient psychiatric discharge following a suicidal crisis. Methods: A total of 113 United States Service members, recruited in the context of a psychotherapy randomized controlled trial, described the extent to which social interactions with family members, peers, and military commanders had changed. Results: Most participants (82.3%) reported at least some change in social interactions, conveying six common themes. Showing more care and checking in more were frequently reported for family (24.8%, 20.4%), commanders (23.0%, 16.8%), and by peers (12.4%, 10.6%). Showing more concern was most frequently reported for family (13.3%) followed by peers (6.2%) and commanders (6.2%). Participants reported showing more caution from peers (14.2%), commanders (13.3%) and family (6.2%). Acting more distant was reported from commanders (7.1%), peers (7.1%), and family (5.3%). Showing negative reaction(s) was reported from commanders (8.0%), family (3.5%) and rarely for peers (0.9%). Conclusion: Inpatient providers are encouraged to prepare patients for potential changes in social interactions following psychiatric discharge and how to best respond to these changes.

KEYWORDS:

• Suicide
• psychiatric treatment
• social interactions
• military

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the contributions of military personnel who took time out of their schedule to participate in this research and to share with us their experiences with their family, peers, and commanders following discharge from psychiatric care.

Disclaimer

The opinions and assertions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the authors’ affiliate institutions or the Department of Defense.

Data availability statement

Access to the data analyzed in this study is restricted due to current Department of Defense data-sharing policies.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

Funding support for the preparation of this manuscript has been provided to Dr. Ghahramanlou-Holloway by the Department of Defense, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP) [W81XWH-08-2-0172]; Military Operational Medicine Research Program (MOMRP) [W81XWH-11-2-0106]; and the National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression (NARSAD) [15219]. CDMRP, MOMRP, and NARSAD did not have any role in the study’s design or analysis.